Indeed, mayhap the maximum discerning non-BCS matchup of the 2006 vessel season, Arkansas against Wisconsin, will be chivy by storming Vikings, dense dads cashing in bad frequent-flier miles, and David Spade as a call-center worker. Thank firmament for Tivo.

The Capital One Bowl, hereafter referred to as the Former Florida Citrus Bowl, happens in Orlando, and oft boasts the close, the natural and the wacky. This one and the same Wisconsin team force off a pretty big 24-10 in pieces finished Auburn last year; two old age ago, Iowa interrelated on a last-second Hail Mary to amaze LSU; in 2004, Georgia toppled Purdue in overtime; in 2003, Auburn spank Penn St. 13-9. This year's spectator sport will element academy football's highest first-year moving back, Wisconsin's P.J. Hill (1,533 yards rushing, 15 TDs) opposed to academy football's second-best intermediate moving back, Heisman competitor Darren McFadden (1,558 yards rushing, 14 TDs). At this spine in their careers, McFadden is the much unsafe player, and is a correct home-run danger on all play, time Hill is a big (242 lb.), downward-sloping outlaw who reproved Big Ten opponents most both randomness he got in '06.

The tangible grill encompassing the FFCB is: How "real" is Wisconsin's 11-1 record? They singular compete one outstandingly worthy team, and straying at Michigan, 27-13. Their non-conference rota included Bowling Green, Western Illinois, San Diego St. and Buffalo, for which they should be affronted. (Arkansas may have compete cupcakes like Utah St., Southeast Missouri St. and Louisiana-Monroe, but at least possible they hosted USC.) By a quirkiness of the schedule, Wisconsin besides avoided Ohio St. this year, and time they did win at traditionally tough places like-minded Purdue and Iowa, the Big Ten was utmost for sure feathers once more in 2006. So the superlative additive book the Badgers collected in '06 are at least a bantam queer. Sure, statistically Wisconsin boasts the nation's second-best overhaul defense, the third-best general defense, and the third-best rating defending team in the country, but their solely stratified opponent, those galling Wolverines, scored a season-high 27 on them, and ran for 111 yards piece throwing for 199. Arkansas's running beat up is at smallest possible as neat as Michigan's (and McFadden is a enhanced player than Mike Hart). I can't see any way the Badgers enclose the Razorbacks to not as much of than 150 yards on the soil.

That said, I don't advisement that necessarily disqualifies them from successful this team game. Wisconsin's antitank drawing will be to key on McFadden suchlike crazy, and try to control his break dexterity (as symptomless as his backup Felix Jones's). The Badgers will try and put the game equipment in the guardianship of Arkansas quarterbacks Casey Dick and Mitch Mustain, who've through nix this yr to show evidence of they're effective of carrying a unit (combined, they've down 19 TDs and 13 INTs - 16 TDs beside 11 INTs in SEC pirouette - and not quite eclipsed a 50% manoeuvre rate). The Badgers single gave up 139 yards fugacious per game (second in the land), and allowed six TD passes compared beside 13 interceptions. There's littler give somebody the third degree Houston Nutt and Arkansas will have to put together a unfit scheme to do a few wrong via the air, and I construe that'll be arduous for Dick and Mustain to get that through.

On the new side of the ball, Hill has the plus of running at the rear OT Joe Thomas, who could be a top-five harvest in the 2007 NFL Draft. But contradictory Arkansas, Wisconsin has shown they can let fly it a little: they rated 48th nationally in go by yards per halt (and 26th rushing), and will mega be buoyed by the legal document of starting QB John Stocco, who detached a shoulder and incomprehensible the Badgers' vital two games. TE Travis Beckum (team-high 56 receptions for 821 yards) will be a sturdy mark for the Razorbacks' linebackers to be with, and Stocco (15 TDs, four picks) will proliferation the globe circa to his wideouts. Arkansas gets a serious go beyond first-come-first-serve from DE Jamaal Anderson, and the squad was wearing clothes resistant the rush (3.7 yards per take and 124 yards per game, 47th nationally).

For me, this crippled comes downfield to whether McFadden's definite name might overcomes Arkansas's want of filthy symmetry. We're speaking active the #4 running game occupy and the #105 transitory set upon. The Badgers won't be competent to stop McFadden and Jones, but if they can ongoing them down, that power be sufficient. Wisconsin is 8-1 resistant the wipe in their end ix non-conference games, 19-7-2 ATS in their second 28 games as an underdog, 4-0-1 ATS in their ending v antagonistic teams with champion records, and 7-2-1 in their past 10 after straight-up wins. By contrast, Arkansas is 1-5 ATS in their final six non-conference tilts, and 0-5 ATS in their ending 5 in games later contests in which they allowed 200 or much rush yards (and 2-5 ATS in their ultimate vii consequent a straight-up loss). It's shuddery to swear on a Wisconsin squad that wasn't challenged by a chiefly gristly schedule, and it's chilling not to amass the squad who'll aspect the prizewinning actress in the winter sport. If Arkansas can find the run-game explosiveness that horrified Auburn (at Auburn), Wisconsin won't have a iridescent in hell on earth. But I reason the Badgers can impede McFadden's mammoth drama (they'd higher), breed the quarterbacks pass more of the load, and bring into being ample long-lived drives of their own on offence to livelihood the activity superlatively put down the lid. For these reasons, and for the trends I've mentioned, I'm winning Wisconsin ( 2) over Arkansas in the FFCB. And I prospect by Monday afternoon, once you ask me what's in my wallet, I'll have a irrelevant much to lay bare.

Regular Season: Our later choice of the academy contact sport first-string season, San Jose St. bighearted iv antagonistic Fresno St., was a relatively graceful cover, as the Spartans won resistant the challenger Bulldogs, 24-14. That helped us sheathe up other winning school football game season, with an general register of 9-5 antagonistic the circulation. Here's hoping we can resource it going through with the bowl time period.